Cases of Omicron BA2 subvariant rising across the European Union
March 18, 2022, 6:33 am

Cases of Omicron BA2 subvariant rising across the European Union

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Thursday 17-03-2022 that cases of Omicron BA2, a COVID-19 subvariant, are rising across the European Union (File photo: Pixabay)

The Xinhua reported, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Thursday that cases of Omicron BA2, a COVID-19 subvariant, are rising across the European Union (EU).

Marco Cavalieri, head of the EMA's strategy on biological health threats and vaccines, told journalists: "While many EU countries are lifting restrictions, we notice that the infection rates are increasing again in some member states, partly because of the circulation of Omicron BA2, which seems to be more transmissible than other variants."

He said that what matters the most is how this increase in cases will stress the healthcare systems.

The EMA called non-vaccinated citizens to get jabbed as soon as possible, emphasizing that there are now five COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the EU using different technologies.

COVID-19-Face mask-The time of COVID (File photo: Pixabay)

He said: "There is currently no evidence that immune response after vaccination is significantly different with Omicron BA2. Vaccines continue to offer high protection against hospitalization and death."

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The vaccines that have received conditional marketing authorization from the EMA are those produced by Pfizer/BioNtech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen and Novavax.

Source: xinhua

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.